Shay's Secrets
by Sunshine3
Summary: A spin-off of FAB, Alan and J's daughter finds herself with mixed emotions as everything she's known crashes around her. *please r/r, I'll love you forever*
1. Disclaimer

Disclaimer: I do not own and of the characters from Disney's "Remember The Titans", they do. Please don't sue me, I have no money, and I am making no money from this story. I have nothing worth suing for anyway.just a tub full of debate files and a timer. Please don't take my timer - I value it more than my own life - well, it's pretty important anyway. Oh yeah, Julianna belongs to my friend Kora and I, as do Shannon and Aaron. Don't steal them - it makes us sad. And another thing - while this story may RESEMBLE a real-life event; it is fictional in all important aspects. Ok, enough legal gobbledy-gook, let's bring on the story. 


	2. Just A Walk In The Park

(Some of the song lyrics from "Escape" by Enrique Iglesias are used in this chapter - they aren't mine.)  
  
"Shay, no! I- we- wait."  
  
"I don't know what else to do, Aaron. I'm out of solutions. You said it yourself, we can't stay like this."  
  
"Fixing does not mean abandoning, Shay. What happened to forever? We can make this work." he paused. "I love you."  
  
Trembling, she took a deep breath. He was making this so hard.didn't he understand how long it took her to get here? Couldn't he see how hard it was for her to renounce everything she'd known for the past year and a half?  
  
"No, Aaron, we can't," she tried to wipe away her tears, but one escaped. It tasted salty as it mixed with her strawberry-frosted lips. "We tried and look where it got us - right back where we started. I love you too.that's why this is so hard. Our friendship won't survive another fight like we had last Saturday.I won't survive it."  
  
"That won't ever happen. EVER! I promise, Shay, I'm not going to ask you to skip any more tournaments. It was a big day, though.our year and a half mark.I just wanted to be with you. When you love someone, you don't just leave them." Aaron sputtered, wringing her hands in his. He was trying desperately to cling to something - anything.  
  
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It would be so much easier to just.no. Shay wasn't about to go back - not once she was this far. "There's a difference between loving someone and being in love with them."  
  
"Shannon, my love will always be here. If you feel like leaving, I'm not going to make you stay, but I love you. I will never stop loving you." With that, Aaron slowly stood and, after gently wiping away Shay's tears, walked toward his car.  
  
'Shannon. He called me Shannon,' she thought. She never let anyone else call her Shannon, just Aaron. There was something about the way he said it that made it his. His voice inflected when he called her and made her feel feminine.pretty.loved. She pulled her legs up onto the rusted metal bench, hugged them to her chest, and cried.  
  
***  
  
She wasn't sure how long she sat there. An elderly couple walked by, each holding the other as if they were their whole world. Robins flew overhead, weaving a melody with each other. A father and his son played in a sandbox fifty feet away until dusk fell. Two chocolate labs ran freely beside the paved path following a woman jogging. A few butterflies danced through a nearby tree. The world seemed to go on without her for hours. Seemingly oblivious to the world around her, Shay sat on the bench until dark, adjusting to, well, life.  
  
"Miss?" a security guard was tapping her on the shoulder. "Miss?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"This is a public park. It closes at dusk.I'm sorry."  
  
"Oh, yea, I'm sorry, lemme just-"  
  
"Take your time," the guard interrupted.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
She gathered her thoughts and her purse and headed down the sidewalk. Although she was tired, Shay wasn't ready to go home. Instead, she found herself walking in the opposite direction of her house. She wasn't quite sure where she was headed, but felt drawn. She allowed her mind to wander and found it, and herself, standing in front of her church. 


	3. Coming Home

The church was quiet, a blessing in disguise. Shay needed to be alone with her thoughts.maybe that's why she ended up here. Church had always been her "getaway", her home away from home. She felt safe there, sitting in a pew or kneeling at the alter. It was constant - steady.  
  
Shay headed toward the alter, taking time to notice the sun-kissed lilies that adorned the sturdy oak. A white rose alerted her to someone's passing. Sighing, she bent to her knees and prayed.  
  
'Heavenly Father, Please be with me now.be with Aaron now.I don't know where to turn now. I mean- I just- Aaron was- I had to do this, I know that, but now it feels like I made a mistake. Please help me to see what You want me to do and help me to stay strong. Thank you for allowing Aaron to be a part of my life. Help me to see where he fits now. In Your Precious Name, Amen.' Shay got to her feet, took a final look around, and left the sanctuary.  
  
It was gloomy and cold outside. Not quite early spring, the nights were still brisk. Accompanied by a nagging sense of guilt and regret, Shay drifted home. The stars seemed faded and the sky was bleaker than she remembered.  
  
Opening the family's front door, Shay prepared herself for the inevitable "Where were you?!" lecture. Alan and J didn't disappoint her.  
  
"WHERE WERE YOU? You had us worried!" J cried, heading toward Shay. It was rare for her children to see the "mushy" side of Mom, so when they did, they knew they really had her worried.  
  
"Kate, how about you go play in the other room while your Mommy and I talk to Shay?" Alan asked his youngest, who was watching "Beauty and the Beast". "You can pick up the popcorn you threw at the screen later," He smiled.  
  
"Gaston is bad, Daddy! I had to throw the popcorn." she grinned mischievously. "Do I have to go? I wanna see Shay get yelled at!"  
  
"Kate.take your movie into the play room. You can throw popcorn there, ok?" J reasoned. Although her voice was soft, there were commanding undertones in it, which Kate picked up on. She quickly switched televisions.  
  
"Shannon, you were supposed to be home at dusk. Where were you? I drove by the park looking for you, but you weren't there," Alan questioned, taking a seat on the sofa.  
  
"I went for a walk after Aaron and I were done talking," she shrugged, slightly unnerved by her father using her full first name. That was never a good sign.  
  
"You could have called. You should have called. What was so important that you couldn't come home first? If a walk was what you wanted, you could have taken one," J sat next to her husband.  
  
"I needed to be alone.I wanted space." Shay started.  
  
"You could have had space here. You broke curfew. Maybe not going out for a week will help you to remember to call us when you're going to be late," J suggested, looking Shay straight in the eye.  
  
"There's no space here! With five other people here around the clock and Will on weekends, there's never quiet! I'll be upstairs." she argued, but saw it got her nowhere. How she could win debate rounds at the national level, yet lost arguments with her parents was beyond her comprehension. She trudged upstairs, defeated.  
  
'Oh well.where would I go? It's not like Aaron and I would be going anywhere.' she thought. Shay sat herself down at the computer, logged on to AOL, and checked her e-mail. What she found left her unnerved and more confused than ever. 


	4. Never Check Your E-mail

(Some of the song lyrics from "Escape" by Enrique Iglesias are used in this chapter - they still aren't mine.)  
  
Subj: Shannon, please read this...  
  
Date: 4/2/2003 7:48:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time  
  
From: SoccerStar03  
  
To: DebateThis23  
  
Shannon- Honey, I know things were rough in our relationship - you and me, up and down at this time, but we'll get right, Shay. You can't just expect things to end this quickly. All that love, those memories.they don't just die. I refuse to let things end. Like I told you, I'm always going to be right here, waiting for you - if you go, you should know - its hard to just forget the past, especially so fast. I think you're rushing this decision.you don't seem to want to do this. Yeah, things were bad near the "end". Think about the other things, though - it was good.it was bad, but it was real. You aren't going to find perfect, Shannon.it doesn't exist. What we had, that was near-perfection, and that's all you get in the end of the matter. I want to try to work things out.please don't leave me - don't leave us. Love you always, Aaron  
  
'Ohmygosh.' Shay thought to herself. She sat, mesmerized by what she saw in front of her. Stunned, she reread the message on her computer. For some reason, Aaron's e-mail rocked her to her very core. It wasn't out of character for the Aaron she had fallen in love with - he sent her sweet e- mails once a week or so. For Aaron as a person, though.well, she wouldn't have seen this coming. Although not overly quiet, he was pretty reserved around their friends.  
  
"Shay, what happened? You look like someone just killed your dog.wait- did something happen to Romeo?! Is that why Mom and Dad kicked Kate out of the family room?" Chrissy questioned.  
  
"Chrissy, Romeo is fine. This is about Aaron." her voice trailed off. The lack of privacy was one of the few things what bothered Shay about sharing a room.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"C'mon, Shay, you and I both know that's not true.why don't you tell me what's going on?"  
  
"Aaron and I broke up.Mom and Dad grounded me.and then I got this," she read the e-mail to her twin and watched as her expression went from one of concern to one of amazement.  
  
"Wow, he's got it for you - BAD - Shay, what are you going to do?" Chrissy bent down to retie her shoe.  
  
"I don't know. There's not much I can do, is there?" she paused. "I mean, especially seeing as how I'm grounded because I was out late tonight."  
  
"Oh yeah.well, I'll ponder it for you while I'm at the mall and let you know if I come up with any ideas. Need anything while I'm out?" she asked.  
  
"No, I think I'm okay, but thanks," Shay responded as she hugged her sister.  
  
"Everything's going to be alright," Chrissy said with a fake-sounding enthusiasm.  
  
"I hope you're right, Chrissy, I hope everything does work out." she allowed her voice to trail off as she hit the "Respond" button on her e- mail. Now came the hard part - she had to respond. 


End file.
